Newsweek sold to IBT Media

8/5/13 8:52 AM EDT

"We are thrilled to welcome this iconic brand and global news property into our portfolio. We believe in the Newsweek brand and look forward to growing it, fully transformed to the digital age," Etienne Uzac, the co-founder and CEO of IBT Media, said in a statement over the weekend.

"We respect the brand's long history of delivering high-quality, impactful journalism and believe this aligns well with IBT Media's culture and mission," Uzac said. "We look forward to working together to create a profitable and successful enterprise."

The sales comes after a many months of high-level departures, some blunt statements from a disappointed owner, Barry Diller, and finally the formal announcement in May that Newsweek was eyeing a sale.

Newsweek, long a Washington Post Company property, was sold to Sidney Harman for $1 plus liabilities in 2010, upon which Harman joined forces with Tina Brown's online publication, "The Daily Beast," which is owned by Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp. Despite generating some controversy, Brown was never able to bring the magazine back to life. After the print edition folded at the end of 2012, top staff started heading for the exits.

In March, top editor Tunku Varadarajan announced he would be leaving the company. In April, Diller bluntly told Bloomberg TV, "'I wish I hadn't bought Newsweek, it was a mistake." In June, CEO Baba Shetty announced his departure; which was followed by the departure of Justine Rosenthal, Varadarajan's replacement, last month.

Newsweek's sale to IBT is expected to close this month, after which IBT will have up to 60 days to take over the property.

More: Read the N.Y. Times on 'The Last Temptation of Tina Brown' here.